“Yeah well, too bad, because you in this dress is just about the sexiest damn thing I’ve ever seen. The fabric is like liquid moving around your body. It flutters around your knees and flows around your ass, and that dip at your cleavage shows nothing but waves a giant red flag anyway. And yes, the color makes your eyes an even more incredible blue. And with your hair down like that and your lips all shiny, I—”

Della blinked as his speech came to an abrupt stop and he looked out the window. She really, really wished he hadn’t stopped. “You what?” He’d been about to say something else, damn it. When he didn’t respond, Della pushed. “You what, Tucker?”

He shook his head. “It doesn’t matter.”

It did matter, but she let it go. “Is that true?”

“What?”

“What you just said?” She inspected his profile. “The…sexy stuff.”

He turned his head, his eyes locking with hers. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t you say that the first time?”

“Jesus, Della…” He broke their gaze to stare out the window. “We don’t have that kind of relationship.”

“What? The kind of relationship where I ask for your honest opinion and expect you to give it to me? I thought that was exactly the kind of relationship we had.”

“The kind of relationship that involves me saying the word sexy to you.”

Oh for the love of…“Because of Arlo?”

“Yes.” He shot her a hot glare before he huffed out a breath. “No. Because I’m your friend and eleven years older than you, and it feels…I don’t know…weird and wrong. And…” He returned his attention to the window. “Dirty. And not the good kind.”

Della pressed her lips together to stifle the laugh building in her throat. Poor Tucker. Trying to walk a line between his role of best friend to Arlo and wingman to her and not rock any boats.

“There’s a good kind of dirty?” she asked with faux innocence.

Startled, he glanced at her, clearly alarmed that he’d given away some kind of secret, and Della burst out laughing. His expression changed to withering. “Very funny,” he said.

“Relax. I’ve read Winona’s books.” Obviously, that information was not reassuring, and Della laughed again. “They’ve been very informative.”

“Excellent. That’s…great.”

“You have no idea. I wish I’d been reading them in high school.” No way in hell would her father have allowed pornography in his house. Even though it wasn’t. The sex was graphic, but the stories were great. “I might have had higher expectations.”

An awkward silence followed, Tucker clearly uncomfortable. Anybody would think Della was trying to discuss the merits of different tampon brands. It was no surprise when he changed the subject. “So…is there going to be another date?”